The stone tablets given to Moses on Mount Sinai were emblematic of the covenant relationship between YHWH and the Israelites. As such, they were placed within the ark of the covenant, which resided within the inner sanctum of the sanctuary. An alternative view of the tablets has gained particular prominence in recent years, which contests the notion that all references to the tablets in Exodus 24-40 refer to the Decalogue. Arising from recent source-critical models for the composition of the Pentateuch, some scholars contend that the nature of the tablets differs significantly between the alleged non-Priestly (JE) and Priestly strands (P) in Exodus 24-40. They argue that the tablets mentioned in P refer to the plans for the portable sanctuary YHWH gave to Moses on the mountain (25:16; 31:18; 34:29a; 40:20), reflecting an ANE temple-building practice, in which royal architectural plans were deposited within a sanctuary. By contrast, the tablets within the alleged non-Priestly material are thought among source critics to refer to the covenant made at Mount Sinai (24:12b; 32:15b-16a; 32:19b; 34:1, 4, 28b). Central to this approach is the contention that these divergent conceptions of the tablets are distinguishable by different terminology (עֵדוּת “testimony” [P] vs. לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן “tablets of stone” [non-P]). The present study seeks to analyze the concept of a Priestly/non-Priestly distinction regarding the tablets given to Moses, contending that עֵדוּת should not be taken as a reference to sanctuary plans. Rather, all references to the tablets given to Moses refer to the Decalogue, which is in keeping with both the semantic and ANE evidence. In addition, the presence of the Decalogue within the ark of the covenant is necessary for maintaining the symbolism of the rituals associated with the Day of Atonement (Lev 16).